


Don’t give in without a fight

by jesse (jesse_blue)



Series: Tripping and falling, rising and persevering [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Asgard, Avenger Loki, Dark Elves, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hydra (Marvel), Infinity Gems, Lots of dialogue, M/M, Odin's A+ Parenting, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, S.H.I.E.L.D., The Aether, lots of talking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2018-08-16 20:24:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8116297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesse_blue/pseuds/jesse
Summary: With Loki as an at least slightly unwilling Avenger, living in the tower gets rather interesting. Tony has to come to terms with the fact that magic might be something scarily powerful. And neither technology nor magic makes anybody invulnerable or untouchable.Hydra decides that the Avengers are a problem that they should take care of. They go for whom they think is the easiest target, Tony Stark without the Iron Man suit.All films after “The Avengers” are not really compliant with the story.(Starts after the story “United we stand – divided we fall”. I highly recommend reading that first, it will make much more sense.)





	1. A mask of ice, a heart of fire

A missile hit the Quintjet on the street and detonated. In a fraction of a second, the Jet exploded in a ball of fire, light and hellish noise. The explosion shook the ground and the shockwave ripped through the closest buildings, busting out the windows.

Iron Man and Black Widow screamed Bruce’s name.

 

24 hours earlier Fury himself had knocked on their door. Or rather had demanded entry into Stark Tower. Sitting comfortably on a couch like he owned the place, he waited until all the Avengers came to the communal floor. He exchanged a few livid looks with Loki but apart from that he said not a single word about or to him.

“The Avengers are needed.”

Natasha flopped into an armchair. “The details?”

“A few weeks after New York a couple found a discarded Chitauri Gun. The guy somehow managed to get the dead gun to work again. The dumbasses decided the best way to use it, would be to rob a few banks. I sent my agents to get the gun and we all thought that would be the end of it.

It wasn’t. We found a group that also succeeded in making the Chitauri weapon technology usable. Changed the design so humans can easily hold and use them. Refined it by adding human weapon technology to the alien one. The agents I sent for them never made it back. None of them. Two teams. We need to stop them. You have the most experience fighting Chitauri weaponry.”

They agreed. Everything sounded easy enough. Fly there, confiscate all the weapons, hand the people involved over to S.H.I.E.L.D.

 

It was an industrial area, close to a residential neighborhood. They landed the Quintjet on a street behind a burnt-out building. It wasn’t a long way to the structure that S.H.I.E.L.D. had marked as headquarter but they should be able to get there undetected. They did. But when they spotted the building behind high walls surrounding the property, it dawned on them, that this would be trouble. The building was inconspicuous enough but deeper on the premises they found a factory complex, that was heavily guarded with enough firepower to cause a problem. They were spotted sooner than they had expected. Then all hell broke loose. The guys didn’t talk, they just started shooting. Forcing the Avengers into a battle. It still didn’t look like it would be a big problem to eliminate their foes.

Their opponents were wearing dark uniforms, surprisingly similar to the S.H.I.E.L.D. ones. For a brief moment the memory of raising from kneeling to standing to kill a handful of agents shot through Loki’s mind. He had to remind himself that this was something else. Then he shot one of them down with flaring green energy, banishing every cogitation from his attention, just concentrating on the task at hand.

 

The Avengers didn’t know that they not only had the guns but a vehicle-mounted weapon that was built with the Chitauri technology. When it fired a missile nobody could stop it before it rammed into the Quintjet and tore it apart. The air was hot and thick with dust. When the dirt settled the Hulk raged through the debris, running from the field of rubble that once was a jet to the building with more speed than anybody would affiliate with his massive body.

 

From then on their failed mission turned into a massacre. The green creature caused havoc in just a few minutes. He ran and grabbed the armored vehicle which had fired the missile at him. He hurled it into the wall surrounding the area, then grabbed the nearest man at the throat and with a sharp jerk snapped his neck. His weapon dropped to the ground, followed by his lifeless body. The others started shooting at him which turned out to be the most stupid reaction. Screams, blood, and collapsing structures proved it. The Hulk was out of control mowing down everybody without hesitation.

 

The Avengers had to halt everything else in an effort to stop their green friend, but they weren’t very successful. They needed to prevent him at least from leaving the compound, bringing destruction to the residential neighborhood nearby.

Hawkeye shot an exploding arrow at him and hit his goal. The Hulk didn’t even flinch. But he lunged out for the archer who barely managed to jump aside and run to save himself.

 

Loki remembered very well how resilient the Hulk was. When he found himself at the receiving end of his fury, he had painfully found out, that he wasn’t particularly vulnerable to magic. He tried it nevertheless. _There’s more to him than just gamma-radiation. He shouldn’t be that resistant against magic._ It was frustrating.

 

Captain America was occupied with trying to captivate people and get them out of the danger zone. It wasn’t an easy task as the green raging one tried to grab them from him or catch them before the Captain could.

 

Thor called down the lightning with his hammer and blasted the Hulk. There was a groan and then a large fist hit the thunder god, who broke another vehicle in two when he was smashed against it by the force of the Hulk’s blow.

 

Somehow the Hulk caught Black Widow together with one of the guards and they both found themselves crashing against another wall. She lay on the ground, on her stomach, one hand still covering her head. She didn’t move. As soon as the Hulk saw that, he stopped for a moment just to howl in frustration and even more rage, running after another man and crushing him against a wall that broke under the power. Blood mixed with concrete dust.

 

Iron Man was hit by a big green arm with enough force to send him flying. Without the thrusters to stabilize himself again, he might as well only stopped when hitting Santa’s lap at the North Pole. He struggled and cursed. “Note to myself. Invent something to stop the Hulk if all else fails. A Hulkbuster.”

 

Loki didn’t like the idea of stepping directly in front of the Hulk. The memory of him getting flung around and the force of impact when hitting the floor, nearly shattering his bones, was an unpleasant background noise in his thoughts. But after all else failed it was the last resort. He could either try it that way or keep on watching the green creature mowing down every living being within an alarmingly big and increasing radius. Including the man he loved.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were red as the blood on Hulk’s fists and his skin was a light blue like a summer sky early in the morning. _Perhaps it needs a monster to stop one._

The green giant stopped dead in his tracks. He crooked his head, looking down at him in surprise. There was a curiosity but not the fear Loki had expected to be enough to turn the Hulk back into Bruce. _Obviously, humanity has no idea that a frost giant is a menace._ Loki cursed. _Fighting didn’t work, Magic didn’t work, and fear didn’t work either, so talking it is. He’s more or less an oversized child, scared to death, blind with fury, only knowing violence as the response to everything. Use that._ He raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. _Brilliant idea. Talk to the unstable child that could kill you, moron._

He stepped closer. “I understand your rage but try to calm down.” Another slow stride and then a few additional ones. “We won’t hurt you.”

The Hulk reached out a finger and Loki stepped back again. “Don’t touch me.” Green lines turned into frown wrinkles and the god hurried to add: “My skin, I, oh damn it. It might hurt you.”

The green one withdrew its finger, looking down with raised eyebrows. At least he had stopped destroying his surroundings.

“Listen. I understand that you’re angry. Bruce’s life was in danger. You got hurt. Everybody would be angry. But now Mrs. Romanov got hurt, too.” A low growl was the answer. “No, no, wait. I also know it wasn’t your intention to hurt her. Everybody knows it wasn’t. Nobody’s angry. But she needs help. To do that you must let Banner come back. You have to stop fighting. Push your fury aside. Like you did when you saved Iron Man in New York.” _And I’m thankful for that._ “Can you do that? Nobody is going to hurt you. No one will attack Bruce either.” _I think there’s nobody left who could._ “I know you’re protecting him, but it’s not necessary now. Nothing bad will happen to him. Please stop it. Let us help Natasha and Bruce. The danger is over.”

There was hesitation and the Hulk tumbled back a few steps. But then he gave a small nod and slowly shrank back to the frame of a trembling Bruce Banner who fell to his knees, exhausted. Loki knelt down in front of him, his skin turning back to pale, his eyes to green. _What have I done?_ The doctor carefully raised his head to look at him. “Thank you. I’m sorry.” Then he let his head fall down on his chest and closed his eyes. After ensuring himself that Banner was fine, just drained, the black haired man stood up slowly. He smiled and looked around. His gaze stopped at Hawkeye. “I assume we’re done here. Someone else can tidy up. Farewell.” Without another word he disappeared.

 

The archer loudly wondered. “What was that?”

Thor put down his hammer. “My broth…”

“Shut up!” Tony’s voice shouted just over the Asgardian’s comm. “Tell them that and he’ll kill you. And I’m not going to stop him.”

“My brother is a mage with special talents.”

There was a sigh of relieve from the man in the red and gold armor. “Now we’ll take care of Natasha and Banner.”

 

It took some time until S.H.I.E.L.D.’s team with a medical crew arrived. Finally all Avengers including a patched up Black Widow entered one of the Quintjets in silence. And incredibly tired.

“I’m not exactly sure what the Hulk did this time. It’s a blur of flickering pieces and feelings.” Bruce stated quietly.

Thor answered. “The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims.”

Natasha glared at him with enough fury to make smaller men sob. The doctor regretted even asking and with a groan, he put his head in his hands.  
The god of thunder at least tried to save what his big mouth obviously had caused. “But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, wounded screams. Mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and gout.” Clint poked him forcefully with an elbow to shut him up.  
If the Russian spy wouldn’t have been wounded, she might have torn Thor apart. _I start to think, that he is not completely innocent of at least some of Loki’s minor loose screws._ One last glare and she sat down beside Bruce, talking to him, her voice soft and gentle.

 

When they arrived back at the tower Tony hurried to get to his floor. “Where is he?

“In the shower, Sir.”

“That’s good.”

“For almost an hour, bracing himself against the wall without moving.”

“That’s more excessive than fine. Could be worse, I would probably be considerable drunk by now.”

“Certainly, Sir.”

“Smartass.”

 

Inside of the bathroom, Loki had heard footsteps and finally stopped the water. He grabbed a towel, carefully avoiding to look in the mirror. And fought so hard against the wish to run away. Against the feeling that everything came to an end because he was so incredibly stupid. Because he decided to turn into a monster to save Bruce from getting killed or hurt. Because he had decided to show them the horror lingering under the surface of pale skin just for the sake of saving someone else’s skin.

 

When Loki left the bathroom, dressed in a black t-shirt and dark jeans, Tony sat on the bed, waiting.

“You should have never asked me to join the Avengers.”

“I didn't force you. You agreed!”

“I won’t do that again. Not even for you.”

“Now this is all my fault?”

Loki didn’t answer, just stood there, his eyes a mirror of the pain inside, his shoulders drawn rigidly together.

“You’re hurt and pissed and whatever, I get that. But it wasn’t my fault. I do a lot of shit but I didn’t cause that.”

“It was your idea to go with them. Not mine.”

“Listen.” Tony’s voice grew gradually louder. “I’ve watched a few dozen people die in a carnage earlier and I wasn’t able to stop it. I have no idea if it could have been avoided. If I could have done something else. I failed. And Bruce? Nothing anybody could say to him now would matter because he will be beating himself up nevertheless for the next days, or weeks or his life. You, you did the right thing and I’m truly sorry if this caused you pain, but it wasn’t my fault!” He stood up and walked to the door. “I love you. But right now you act like an asshole and I’m not in the mood to face that. I simply can’t. There’s blood on my suit and I’ll go now and get at least rid of that because I know exactly how to do that.” _Won’t be the first time. Won’t be the last time._

He opened the door but was stopped by a hand on his arm, pulling him back.

“Wait. I’m sorry.”

“No.” He turned his face away.

“Please.” Loki gently, but with enough force to make resistance useless, turned Tony’s head to face him. “Don’t leave.” _Me._ “I’m sorry.”

Tony groaned. “Why did you do it, if it does that with you?”

“Because everything else I could think of included the opportunity of killing him. I was actually trying to avoid that. And because I’m too dumb to come up with a better solution.”

“It was a solution. Nobody had one, you did. So don’t call it dumb. And just for your information, none of the others think that it was more than a magic trick. You do realize that nobody on this planet knows anything about Jotun and contrary to the idiots on Asgard we don't think that a whole race is the dregs of the galaxy? It won't matter to them.”

“It matters to me. They have no right to know about that. It’s my story, not theirs.”

 

“Sirs?” JARVIS asked. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, but Mr. Barton, Mr. Rogers and Mrs. Romanov are asking if Loki wants to join them for a beer.”

“Why would I want a beer now?” _Or ever?_

“I assume it’s more of an olive branch than about the beverage.” The A.I. added helpfully.

Loki gazed confused and silent.

“A peace offering.”

“Thor?”

“It wasn’t his idea and he wasn’t invited.”

Tony laughed. “Honey, go and make some friends.”

“I don’t need or want friends.”

“Just go. I’ll be in the workshop. Oh, and don’t kill anybody.”


	2. Not on a Thursday

A few hours later Loki entered the workshop. “I came to a conclusion.”

Tony, who was still working, looked up at him.

“Everybody in this tower is lunatic.”

“Not exactly news.” He stated grinning. “Had fun?”

“Funny was, that Mrs. Romanov obviously came so close," he pressed thumb and pointer finger together, "To seriously maim Thor because he upset Bruce on board of the Helicarrier?”

“He was empathetic like a jackhammer.”

Loki nodded. “She has a soft spot for Bruce. A very soft spot. A loving soft spot."   
"You didn't say that loud, I guess?"  
"No. I'm not completely insane."

“Thought you came to the conclusion that’s a requirement to live here?”

“Thought that was also a requirement to love you.”

“Smartass. You could help me here. I’m working on the Hulkbuster.”

They didn’t get much work done. Partly because Tony was exhausted, partly because Loki was still distressed. And they had to stop completely when JARVIS reported that Clint had unscrewed an air outlet and was now trying to enter into a vent.

Tony shook his head and sighed. “JARVIS, make sure he hears this.”

“Of course, Sir.”

"Hawky. JARVIS was nice enough to not electrocute you when you entered the vent you're currently crawling in. He still could. Get out. Don't even try to mess with my security systems, you stand no chance. This is the most secure building your wrinkled ass will ever be in. I'll wait for you in my workshop. Take the elevator like a normal person."

Loki sat down on a chair and put his feet on a workbench, slightly smiling while waiting for the show. Tony raised his eyebrows at that.

 

It didn’t take long until the archer strolled into the workshop.

“Things I shouldn’t have to say on a Thursday. Or ever. Do not try to crawl into the fucking vents. Hell, do with your floor whatever it takes to make you feel comfortable. Build yourself a nest at the ceiling or sleep like a bat hanging from the doorframe. I honestly don’t care, just go for it. I’d even hire a work crew if you prefer some building conversions, just tell me or JARVIS. But you don’t touch the structure of the building, try to crawl through vents, walls, staircases or whatever you have no access to. When JARVIS tells you to stop, you do so before he forces you to. Never ever try to get past my security measures again.” _I’m the only paranoid shit in this tower allowed to do that._ “Have I made myself clear?”

“Calm down, Stark. Don’t you think that’s a little harsh?”

“I am calm. But the next time you’ll get hurt.”

As soon as Clint felt the almost unnoticeable weight on his head he moved back and grabbed something that had just appeared there, throwing it to the ground. Tony doubled over laughing. It was Dum-E’s dunce hat.

“Ok, I get it.” Barton shot a glance at Loki.

Loki shrugged amused. “Just wanted to curtail this discussion.”

Clint rubbed his chin but decided to not start a fight over a stupid hat. “Understood. But while you are both here, let me update you. The S.H.I.E.L.D. teams at the factory complex found that it belonged to HYDRA. As did the weapons and crew.

The computers and labs got destroyed before they could be saved but storage media could be partly recovered. Turned out that After New York someone called Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, approached one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s scientist, offering him to join HYDRA. That’s how they got the Chitauri Guns. Dozens of them. Only a small amount of them were found. We don’t know where the rest is. Probably somewhere in Europe with Strucker. There’s a rumor about a research facility somewhere in Eastern Europe. That happened just a few days after the Lighthouse mission. We can consider ourselves fortunate that they didn’t get to take the scepter. Who knows what would have happened if they had to get their hands on it.”

“So that's not the last we'll see of them.”

“Nope.”

With that, the man turned and left the workshop.

 

Loki laughed. “You acted so sympathetically, with just the perfect bit of rage and threat boiling under the surface.”

“I am sympathetic. But nobody messes with the things that make me feel safe in my own home. That must be the first time I saw you working magic just for fun. Why so rarely? If I could do what you can I would probably do it all day long.”

“You’re not walking around in your suit all day long, do you?”

“More often than you wield magic, that’s for sure.”

“I have no intention of exposing myself to ridicule.”

“Ah, Asgard’s upbringing again.”

“However. It’s not a game and I am not here to entertain.”

“You should definitely start to be proud of the things you can accomplish.”

Loki answered with an impatient sneer. “If we could concentrate on your so called Hulkbuster project instead of verbiage we might accomplish something before I get old and feeble.”

Tony’s posture became rigid and he answered reluctantly. “I won’t witness that anyhow, I guess.”

A questioning glance out of green eyes.

"You don't need my money, or my power, or my genius or anything else from me."  
_I need you._ "I prefer equality to dependence. We had this tiresome discussion once already, didn’t we?"

“Am I? An equal in every way?” Tony shook his head. “I am just human. I will get old and feeble way before you and I will never see you age like that. Asking you to stay with me, means asking you to watch me grow old, wither and die. Even if I’d live to 100 or more, that is just a heartbeat for someone living several thousand years.”

Loki felt a tightness in his chest and stayed silent for a while. “This is a very uncomfortable glimpse into a future I'm not nearly ready to consider. I might never be ready for. To let you be snatched from me.” His face showed surprise, quickly masked. “Strangely enough I’m willing to do this nevertheless.”

“And I’m definitely selfish enough to ask you for that. I am willing to do that to you, to let you suffer. I’m a genius, I know the consequences of my deeds. Mostly.” He hesitated. “But when I see what you are capable of, I feel,” _Weak._ “Not exactly useless but perhaps not worth the pain I might cause you either.” _You might get tired of me and my restrictions. You might find someone better._

“I stay with you.” Loki’s voice was firm. “If that is, what you’re asking.”

“I don’t know what I’m asking, to be honest. Perhaps I just want to hear that you won’t turn around and leave when you completely understand that I am human and you’re someone humanity would rank a deity.”

“And as such, I made a decision. I don’t understand why you try to talk me out of that. Again.”

“I’m not. I’m just.” He stopped.

“Self-doubting.”

Tony grunted. “I hope you know what you do.”

A silent nod.

When Tony felt something on his head he didn’t have to look to know what it was. “Really?”

Loki laughed.

“Get in your suit. LOKE I, I mean.”

“Are you angry over a dunce hat?”

“What? No. That I’ll just pay back to you later. I might not be able to wield magic but playing tricks on someone, that I can do. I just had an idea. Suit up. We’ll take a trip.”

 

It was a short trip that ended at a small airport where they got into one of Stark Industrie’s jet. They crossed the ocean but Tony still refused to tell Loki what their destination was. They took a car that already waited at the small airport they landed at and drove some time until they could see the sea. Then they stopped.

 

The god asked: “Where are we?” The wind blew across his face and tousled his hair.

“North Sea coast. England.”

“Do you mind to tell me why?”

The engineer looked at the sea, watching grey-blue waves crash white against the shore. His cheeks were ruddy from the breeze. “Jarvis once took me here. The human Jarvis. Howard worked somewhere for S.H.I.E.L.D., Maria was I don’t know where and Jarvis’ wife had finally talked him into taking a vacation. He didn’t want me to be alone with the rest of the service staff and just took me with them. Howard never found out. I liked it here even if it’s at the back of beyond. They all treated me like a child. Not like a spoiled bratty prodigy. Thought we could need to take time out. No Avengers, no Hydra, nada. Just the two of us. Just being ordinary people. Or as ordinary as we can be.”

Loki just nodded.

They got back in the car and in the next small town they found a restaurant and got the owner to serve them Whiskey to fish and chips.

They sat at a table in a corner where it was relatively quiet.

“I have a little house in this area, I don’t even know why I bought it. It was a long time ago. We can stay there for the night.”

“Good idea.” _If these people keep on staring at us I might burn this whole tavern to the ground._

They stayed for two days before they flew back to New York a lot more relaxed than before.


	3. A matter of time not contingency

It was a sharp contrast to the two days they had spent in England. Tony was on a business trip and Loki has stayed at the tower, feeling utterly alone without any reason. The man whose name still was the name of the company had to go or Pepper would have hauled his ass there, she probably phrased it more elegant than her former boss. Apart from that, it was something important about clean energy or development aid or both and Loki had no interest and no intention to join him on that trip. Tony didn’t need him for that and he would be with Pepper and a lot of people in suits. Expensive suits in a world Loki knew nothing about. So he stayed.

It wasn’t the first time the engineer would be away for a few days, but somehow this time it gave him too much time to think. On the second day, Loki was trying to work on the Hulkbuster and it wasn’t going well. There was a mistake and he couldn’t find where exactly it was. He tried to concentrate just on the problem but he couldn’t and it frustrated him beyond reason. He decided to have a drink. Or two. And then he just followed Tony’s pattern and emptied a whole bottle of that honey rum he had learned to enjoy that much. It was not only Tony’s absence or the whole Avengers thing or anything he could point out, it was the mixture of everything that happened and the fact that he now had time to think about it in solitude. The silence made his thoughts race and travel to places where he didn’t want to go. It made him nervous and tense.

He let the empty bottle hover a few inches over the workbench. With every twist of his fingers, he turned it or changed the height in which it floated in the air without even touching it. A bizarre and silent dance while music was playing in the background that didn’t reach his mind.

Magic. The same magic that could create wonders as well as pain and misery that could cause damage as well as beauty. _I’m using it to play with a bottle_. He laughed and it was an ugly noise.

Magic couldn’t make him feel better and he knew so damn well that even if he could make himself feel better, he didn’t want it at the moment. He felt miserable and tried to convince himself that he wanted to be miserable. He felt like he deserved the hurt. He wasn’t sure for what exactly but the more he was sure he deserved it.

 

_This is just human technology, it shouldn’t be a problem to find a solution. I should be able to do that._ He cursed. _I’m trying to assure myself, that everything is alright. It isn’t._

_Even with all that power, sometimes I have to work so hard to push the feeling of being helpless aside. Of being useless. Worthless. Something creeping into my mind like a shadow in peripheral vision. Coming closer. That’s just fear, isn’t it?_ _Ridiculous and foolish._

_Everything could be taken away from me again. I could be alone again. Without anybody, without anything. Would I just break into a million pieces, nothing and nobody can ever put back together?_

He let the bottle drop to the surface, the green sparks surrounding it disappeared and the flask shattered. He stared at it for a moment, then caused the evidence to vanish. The broken bits of glass, the dark drops of liquid just wiped out. He let his head fall on his chest.

_The feeling of utterly and complete helplessness has left me with wounds that won’t heal to scars. This will never end. No matter what I do. Time does not heal all wounds. It just teaches you to live with them. And some of the broken parts that never heal will cut your insides open without warning. Internal bleeding. I’m irrevocably damaged, and no matter what I do or how well I do it, it will be there. Breaking to the surface at the worst possible times._

He stood up to get another bottle but then decided against and sat down again.

_I slowly forget the memory of pain. I remember it, I always will, but I don’t feel it so violently anymore. More like it happened to someone else and I’m just the witness. Burdened with seeing it all over again and again. Almost like it didn’t happen to me. But it did and I’ll never forget. Sure, there are moments, hours, even days I don’t think about. But out of the blue, it’s there all over again. It doesn’t go away. Never._

_Fear, desperation, and the memory of being in so much mental and physical pain that reality stopped to exist replaced by horror that defies space and time. These memories stay. And sometimes they sneak into my conscience with the threat of repetition. Like I’m still bound in chains, invisible, but weighing me down. Holding me still, unable to escape whatever might follow. Shouldn’t I be over this? I shouldn’t feel like a scared child hiding under the bed. I just shouldn’t. It’s pathetic and disgraceful._

“I’m inept and incapable.” He didn’t mean to speak out loud.

“Sir,” JARVIS answered him with his usual calm voice. Before he could add something Loki already answered him. “That wasn’t meant for you. Sometimes I’m just caught in the hell inside of my own mind. Nothing and nobody can change that, JARVIS.”

“I’m sorry.”

“That´s just the way it is. I probably have a few thousand years of this in front of me, I better get used to it.“

“That's a rather dark outlook of the future, sir.”

“Realistic. I'm used to resentment and disappointment, I might get used to this, too. Without falling from a bridge, I mean.”

“Perhaps you might want to call him and talk for a while?”

_I can’t tell Tony this. How can I even be that weak? I can do so many things, yet I don’t trust into that. I sit here and wait for the illusion to shatter. Like a stupid child, afraid of what lingers in the darkness. Wait for the delusion to reveal something so much darker. I wait for him to leave, for my power to vanish, for everything good to break and leave behind only desperation. I wait for reality to break, to reveal that it was all an illusion covering pain that won’t end._

“That will not be necessary, JARVIS.”

_Just be quiet already._ His throat hurt and his eyes burned as he forced himself not to cry. Not over himself.

“So let’s try that again, JARVIS. Open that other blueprint once more, please.” He went back to work, ignoring himself as best as he could. "I can't figure out what the problem here is. JARVIS, we're going to build that part." He circled around a section of the blueprint. "I need something to look at and touch to solve that. Or throw it at a wall, if I'm still stuck."

He spent the rest of the day with it.

 

Loki fell asleep in the workshop. He woke with a start when JARVIS was more or less screaming his name. “What happened?” It took him a moment to sort his thoughts as well as his limbs. Sleeping like that wasn’t exactly comfortable.

“He is absent. I can’t reach Mrs. Pepper or Mr. Happy either. Right after the GPS-signal of his phone and tablet went missing, Sir’s subcutaneous transmitters stopped communicating. Both of them.”

“What? How can that even happen?”  
“It can’t. There is absolutely no natural way for this to just happen. Nothing would manage to accidentally deactivate all of this security measures. Also, I can’t find him on security footage or any other way I tried. He vanished off the face of the earth and I can’t track him, no matter what I tried. This should be impossible. After Afghanistan Sir implemented additional programs that should find him everywhere, every time. If none of that works he needs help.”

“Have you tried.” Loki couldn’t end his sentence.

“I tried everything possible. To no avail.”

“Call the other Avengers. If you can’t find him, perhaps they can.” This wasn’t the time for him to deny help. If JARVIS wasn’t able to find Tony something clearly went very, very wrong.

 

“Can’t you track him?” Clint asked Loki who stared at him and asked. “How?”

“Some magic voodoo stuff?”

“No.” Loki turned to Natasha. “How you can work with him with a straight face remains beyond me.”

She didn’t answer. Just asked, “Ransom demands?”

“None.”  
Barton cursed.

“Are you sure, he’s not just at a party and forgot his phone?” Steve still wore sportswear. He was sparring with Thor when JARVIS called them.

Natasha didn’t let an agitated Loki answer. “He wouldn’t. Not anymore.” She started walking and motioned the others to follow her. “As Stark is one of the most paranoid persons and all his measures were rendered useless this is critical. JARVIS, relay everything that might be useful to my tablet. We’ll need the Quintjet. I’ll do some research while we fly to his last known location.”

 

Meanwhile Tony slowly woke up. Disoriented and confused. He had no idea what had happened or where he was. He just remembered a blinding light and an explosion right in front of him at a conference table. He had sunken into darkness before he could react.

When he finally managed to open his eyes he was blinking against artificial lighting high above his head. He lay on a cot in a small and empty room. Windowless, one door that looked like a vault door. Light gray and white floors and walls.

“You’re awake.”

Tony jerked away reflexively but there was nowhere to go. His vision was still blurry and it took him some time to survey the tall man that towered over him. Piercing blue eyes and short blonde hair and not much more to see as he was wearing neutral military clothing. He didn’t waste time with introductions.

“Was a surprise that this thing,” Much to Tony’s discomfort the guy bent forward and knocked at the place where the Arcreactor was covered by something assembling a prisoner's garb. “Isn’t part of your suit but of your body. We’ll talk about that later. We removed your other belongings including the transmitters under your skin.”

That explained the stinging pain in his right upper arm and left leg. _Fuck._ Successfully he hid his irritation. “You should have scheduled an appointment. I’m not available for interviews at the moment. Next month may be an opportunity.”

He still felt foggy and his head hurt. “What’s with Pepper and the others?”

“They are still where you last saw them. We were only interested in you.”  
That was at least a piece of good news. “I am honored. If this is going to be a surprise party I have to say that I miss the alcohol, the decoration is lousy and the only guest even more.”

“You’re lucky, that we prefer you alive.” Tony’s relieve about that vanished as fast as it came. “Not necessarily in one piece, just alive.”

Tony briefly thought about attacking the guy, trying to use the moment of surprise and get out of here but scrapped the idea when he struggled to sit up. Whatever they had used to knock him out was still in his system. He needed his whole strength to just sit and he couldn’t imagine standing or running. He slightly shook his head but it made vertigo and nausea worse.

“What do you want from me? Ransom? Or just spending time with your favorite billionaire? You can get an autograph, just give me a sheet of paper and a pen, dear.”

The man backhanded him across the face. It made him hit his head on the wall behind him and it made him angry. “I’m not so much into that stuff than you might think. And you’re so not my type.”

“The Avengers became a constant annoyance to us. We’ll put a stop to that. And you will help us. You’re the weakest link. You’re neither a so-called god or a super soldier nor did you have years of S.H.I.E.L.D. training. As long as you’re not near any technology or your suits you’re no problem. You’ll tell us about their plans and everything else we want to know.”

“I don’t think so.” Tony clenched his teeth. “I’m really busy with my other obligations. Also, who are we?”

“Remember the base with the Chitauri weaponry? My brother worked there.”

“Oops. Would like to say I’m sorry but I’m not. So you’re HYDRA. Perhaps you want to change your employer? Stark Industries offers high wages and health-care.”

The man laughed. “When we’re done with you, you won't talk back anymore.”

“You say that like it's a feasible thing,” Tony answered. “You don’t know me, do you?”

“I know you well enough, Anthony Edward Stark. You, on the other hand, know nothing about me and what I could do to you. In the end…”

Tony interrupted him. “The in-the-end speech I already had and spoken by someone exceeding you by far.”

 “We’ll see. You’re either talking to me now or later but you will.” That smile was unsettling, “It’s a matter of when not if.” He grinned and Tony balled his hands into fists. "We’ll have time for that when you're completely awake again. I have exciting plans for you and I want you to enjoy every minute of it." With this last words, the man turned and knocked at the door that was opened quickly. Someone handed him a bottle with water. He turned and put it on the ground. "We don't want you to pass out because of dehydration, do we?" He left without looking back.

 

Tony sighed. He was undeniably thirsty and since staggering through the desert with the sun mercilessly burning down on him he hated the feeling. He remembered the symptoms and knew it would make it so much harder to come up with an escape plan. Standing up and walking to the bottle was exhausting and the whole ordeal made him livid. He took the opportunity to take a closer look at the door. It had no visible hinges, no doorknob, and no lock he could reach from this side of the smooth metal. _Shit._

 

There was that specific breaking noise when he screwed off the cap of the bottle. Turned out, he was thirstier than he had thought. After being unconscious for the gods alone know how long, the water tasted good. He emptied the little container in one go.

 

It dawned on him that something was wrong when a little bit later the door opened again and his captor grinned first at the empty bottle and then at his prisoner. “Enjoy the show.” Then he left again.

_Don’t panic. They don’t want me dead so whatever that was, it will not kill me. Perhaps just a placebo to try scaring the shit out of me._

It turned out, it wasn’t. It came creeping and went from slight discomfort to hurt, to feeling incredibly ill. Violently sick. He doubled over, hugging himself in pain while cramps shook his body. He stumbled to the cot and collapsed, his hands clenched into fists. He was sweating and the clothes he wore, stick on his skin after a few minutes. At the same time, he felt cold and broke into shivers. Gripping the metal border of the cot so tight that his knuckles went white and his whole face twisted in agony he was trembling uncontrollably. He curled himself up in a ball, cursing HYDRA, trying to breathe and concentrate on that instead of the feeling of his body, which vehemently opposed to whatever they might have given him.

That wasn’t what he had expected. This wasn’t the same as forcing his head underwater. He wasn’t sure if this was better.


	4. Aggression, rage, and violence

The Avengers were already in the air when Pepper called. Still slightly confused, foggy and weak but hell-bent on giving them as much information as possible.

They were in a meeting. Nothing out of the ordinary. Without any prior warning, there was an explosion. It was loud, with a blinding light and then seemingly they all passed out. Everything went so fast. They woke up a lot later, Tony was gone as the only one. All the other influential and rich figures were untouched as well as the secretary and other staff. The conference table was damaged but apart from that, there was no evidence or clue what happened and where Mr. Stark went. Pepper nearly got arrested when she hindered the police from investigating, insisting on waiting for the Avengers.

 

When they entered the conference room the first thing they saw were tipped over chairs, scattered sheets of scripts and statistics. Pepper was pale but stood as upright as ever. Talking to Happy who looked like he had lost the most important one ever. For Loki that was exactly what had happened. Then he caught sight of something that looked like blood on the ground. Not much but enough to worry. Loki pushed away a chair to take a closer look. The force he used crashed the furniture against a wall where it shattered with a loud noise.

"Would you stop tearing the place apart before we could secure evidence?" Black Widow was all calm business.

"Then you better find something useful." He sharply answered, turned around and left the room. There was nothing he could do there apart from hoping for the best and that he could do everywhere.

Thor thought that he would tear apart more than just a chair or a room if somebody would abduct Jane. So he turned to follow him but Bruce shook his head and Thor stayed.

 

 

At some point, Tony must have fallen asleep. He woke up and felt at least better than before. Whatever poison that was it just had a temporary effect. Getting up was a small struggle nevertheless. Tony looked around his small cell. He was free to move around but that was the only positive aspect. It was bright in here, fluorescent lights high above him. He had no idea what time of day it was or which day. How long had he been unconscious?

There was the cot he woke up on and the only other fixture in the cell was a stainless steel toilet without a lid. No sink. The cot was cemented to the floor. Without power tools, it wouldn’t move no matter how much time or effort he would put into a try. _Wonderful._ They really seemed intent on not giving him a chance to escape. There was just nothing. The walls were too high to reach the light fixture, the door was massive and seemingly unmovable. This room was solely designed to hold someone captive. The engineer leaned his back against the wall opposite to the cot and waited. He wanted to see as much as possible of the hallway or whatever was in front of the door. He needed more information and then he required a goddamn plan to get out.

 

When the door opened he saw three guards, one on each side of the door and one opposite to it. Armed and in black uniforms. He heard someone scream and the terrified voice made him take a deep breath. There were more doors but it was impossible to guess if they were in front of other cells or rooms for other purposes. They all looked alike. He couldn’t see the end of the hallway and the door to his cell was closed fast. A smile crossed his face. He wouldn’t give them the joy of showing his anger and dread even if his sole option at the moment was to wait for whatever came next.

 

It was the same man again that had given him the bottle of water. “You’re up. Fine.”

“The mattress is a catastrophe. You completely forgot my blanket and pillows. I’m afraid I’ll have to leave negative feedback concerning my stay here.”

“I think I’ll enjoy it immensely to make you scream.”

“No doubt. You look like an asshole that would relish that.”

“We will keep you here until you are useful to us. You’re powerless in our hands. We will make you wish to die but we’ll also take care that you stay alive as long as we wish so.”

“Don’t you have a superior, someone who has something to say? Somebody not as irrelevant as you, cupcake. I want to talk to that person.”

“It’s completely irrelevant what you want.” He took another step in Tony’s direction, already raising his right hand. Tony had no way out of this mess and no way forward but he wasn’t going to be easy prey. He attacked. Launched himself at the man, grabbed his throat and pushed him on the ground hard and fast. The same moment his fist connected with the man’s face the door flew open and something hit his chest. His body went stiff and fell backward. Unable to control his movements his muscles convulsed. There was the pain of an electric charge searing through him for what felt like a lifetime. Until he saw someone kneel down beside him with a mean grin on his face and the pain subsided. The guy ripped out the barbs of the Taser. Tony would have enjoyed it to just stay on the ground but surrounded by HYDRA that might be a bad idea. He struggled to his feet, ignoring the residual pain. “I see,” he croaked out, „You brought some friends.”

He was crashed against the wall when one of them hit him. A blow against his stomach left him gasping for air and bent over. One of them whispered in his ear. “Big mistake.” Another punch sent him to the ground and they left him alone. The door closed like before but with a coughing prisoner on the ground. It took him some time to get up and sit down on the cot again. So they must have a camera in here. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to storm into the cell so fast.

 

A short while later two men entered the cell. Grinning. "Ever heard of waterboarding?"

"No, I live under a rock." Tony’s face and body were completely still but inside of his mind, a steady voice was repeating “No.” over and over again. Then he just gave in to the fear and turned it into rage.

They underestimated him. People tend to do that. These two didn’t expect him to go berserk. They tried to stop him but despite their training, he managed to throw them off him. First, he leaped at the one at the right with an agility that surprised him himself. He was tired but panic was obviously better than coffee. He shook the guy and slammed his head to the ground. After jumping up again he clenched his fists and managed to knock the second one down. Two or three others came rushing into the room. It didn’t stop him from fighting tooth and nail.

 

Tony was struggling to keep control of the memories surfacing and gripping at him. But it hit him with too much force. A too vivid memory of water dripping from his face, soaking his clothes. Voices that were screaming at him but he couldn’t understand a word. And then he couldn’t move. Arms that held him down mercilessly. He wasn’t sure whether they did it then or now. Or both. The pain in his chest worsened. He heard himself screaming but had no idea what. His body went limp when whatever was in the syringe that someone had injected him with kicked in and everything went dark once more.

 

He was laying on the floor of his cell when he regained consciousness. Nobody else was was there. He tried to haul himself up on his elbows. Then he was screaming in rage. He sat up, making it to the wall to lean himself against it. He stared ahead, frozen in the thoughts of when and how this would end. He could just play out time and that was frustrating as hell. _And terrifying._ Immediately he pushed aside the thought that sprang into his mind unbidden.

 

It wasn’t clear to him how long they had left him there. The bright light and the silence in an empty room was unnerving. The silence was only disturbed when someone opened the door to push a tray with food and water into the cell. At the very least, they didn’t poison his water this time. When the door opened, he could hear screams echoing. Knowing that sooner or later they would come for him was starting to wear him out.

 

 

Finding out that HYDRA was behind Tony’s kidnapping didn’t take much time. To ascertain where they kept him was a lot harder. The first base they searched was abandoned. For some time it seems. It made the Hulk so furious that he leveled a considerable part of the small building to the ground.

They were attacked a few hours later when they came for another hideout. The fight was hard and took its toll on them all. Natasha left with a bandaged arm and Steve was silently waiting for the serum to heal his bruises while gritting his teeth in pain. Bruce was sleeping curled up on the ground. Hawkeye was hit by a grace shot, even Thor and Loki looked worn out. They didn’t find Tony. There were cells but no trace that he ever was there. The HYDRA agents that weren’t killed in the process couldn’t provide information because they killed themselves instead of surrendering. The mood was gloomy when they silently get out of the Quintjet. Loki was the first and when he walked around another corner he was grabbed by a small but strong hand. Natasha held his arm.

His words were sharp and forceful. "Let go of me."

“You’re wounded.”

“I’m not in need of your assistance.”

The redhead studied him silently for several seconds. She became calmer as realization dawned. “You did that on purpose.”

“I don`t understand.” Loki hissed, unwillingly holding still instead of pushing her away.

“You didn’t tell anyone about your wounds not just because you didn’t want to look weak but also as a twisted sort of punishment. Because you think that you failed.”

_I did._ “That doesn’t sound like me.”

“Sounds exactly like you. You’re self-destructive like Stark. Always judging yourself to an unrealistic standard of perfection. It’s not your fault. We’ll find him. Whatever it needs, we will find him.” Natasha glared at him, not wasting energy on pretending that she wasn’t angry. “Never do that again. It`s dangerous. For all of us. For you and for your lover and all Avengers that are with you. You’ll make mistakes, we all do. Beating yourself up will not help anybody.”

“You have no…” She didn’t let him end his sentence.

“What? No idea how that feels? No right to talk to you like that? No reason to care for you? You’re a pest but that doesn’t necessarily mean I want you to do that to you. Now shut up and let me take care of that.”

“I can heal that myself.”

“Then do it.”

“I’m not a liability you have to take care of.” His mouth and cheeks tensed up and his eyes had narrowed. Natasha wasn’t really sure if she should brace for an attack. “I welcome whatever helps me to go through this and get him back. This might not be good for me but things rarely are. He is. If I have to tear apart this whole world piece by piece to have him back by my side, then I’ll do it with pleasure. If I get hurt in the process, I’ll heal. You’re not due to question me. I’ll be ready to fight whenever it will become necessary. If I’m not able to do that then you may lecture me. This conversation is over.”

She let go of his arm and gave a short nod before she left.

 

 

It was cold. Not freezing but very uncomfortable. His hands and feet declined to get warm again. The thin clothes didn’t offer protection and without a blanket, there was no way to get warm again. When another man opened the door and entered his cell he forced himself to smile. "When will you bring the TV?" The surprise in the guy's face was a small victory. "You know like in Netflix and chill? As you already started with the chilling part we can now choose a movie. No romantic comedies."

"I agree, it's cold in here. You might enjoy this." He held out the coffee cup he had brought with him. "Coffee. Not the best but drinkable enough."

Tony didn't take the cup hold in his direction. "So you're playing the good cop? Who will come next? Because I’m really looking forward to the hot spy trying to seduce me into cooperation.” The new man was soft-spoken, just a little shorter than the first, with a lean build. His short hair was dark and big brown eyes looked around curiously behind black rimmed glasses. Wearing a lab coat he was good looking but unremarkable.

 

“You can make this a lot easier for all of us, Mr. Stark.”

“You can, too. Just open the door and let me go.”

“We have ways of convincing you one way or another. I just would prefer it if you didn’t get damaged in the process.”

“That's just so considerate.”

"I think you should try to understand your situation. You have no way out and it doesn't look like the Avengers are trying to find you. That's not so surprising anyhow. I read the paper Romanov wrote about you and I wasn't able to find documentation that would reflect that S.H.I.E.L.D. changed its mind and made you more than an accountant. They just accepted you being an Avenger grudgingly after you saved the world because they didn’t have another choice." He clapped his hands in a nearly amused fashion. "You'll stay with us. We even might appreciate your genius more than they did."

“By turning me into an ice cube?”

“I could offer you a warm blanket and hot food, as long as you cooperate.”

"I'd prefer not to."


	5. I’ll call you Justin

The man in the white lab-coat raised his voice. “Don’t do that to me, Mr. Stark. I’m looking forward to working with you and it would be a shame if they had to break you to achieve this. I hate dealing with blood, tears, and pleading. I admit that the circumstances are far from ideal. But we will have to make do. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“And you expect me to answer.”

“Please, don’t waste my time.”

“Then don’t waste mine. Sooner or later I either find a way out of here or someone will come and free me.”

“Nobody will come. They are not searching for you. A few people working for you might still be waiting for a ransom demand that will never come but there is no big rescue mission on its way. Even if it would be, nobody will find you here.”  
_Loki will. Won’t he?_ For the first time, Tony began to doubt, that somebody would come and find him wherever he might be at the moment. And he still wasn’t able to come up with an escape plan.

He remained silent and the man slightly raised his voice when he got no answer.

“This facility is the safest one HYDRA owns. Beings much stronger than you were held here and not one of them escaped.”

“There’s always a first time.” He smiled.

“Mr. Stark, it seems you are under the impression that you are Iron Man. You might have been. But here you are just flesh and bones like everybody else. Breakable.” When Tony didn’t answer once more he added: “Just let them call me when you change your mind.”

“I don’t even know your name. I think I’ll call you Justin. You look like one. Like a royal pain in the ass.”

“I’m John.” “He knocked at the door and a guard opened from the outside of the room, his weapon in aiming position. “You can take him to room 102.”

When three guards entered his cell and the white coat smiled Tony knew he was fucked. “If he tries something, shoot. But shoot to wound,  not to kill.” John was all smiles.

Two of them still aimed their guns at him and the third one put him in cuffs while he answered. “I’ll shoot him in his legs, not his head. Understood.”

Tony thought briefly about fighting back but discarded the idea because right now he didn’t want to die and wasn’t willing to trust their aiming skills. “You better not, you fucking squirrel,” Tony grunted at the guy. Instead of an answer, the guard behind him hit him in the back and he groaned. Not fighting back to not get shot didn’t include full corporation nor shutting up. So he didn’t. But they didn’t seem to enjoy his entertaining qualities that much while they dragged him along the corridor, twisting his arms even more painfully behind his back.

 

“If Tasha doesn’t get him to talk, nobody will,” Clint stated and Loki just huffed. He was so past being patient. “She better hurry up or I’ll go into that room and take care of that.”

“Dead people don’t tend to be helpful when you’re searching someone.” The archer, both arms folded together across his chest, was still standing in front of the closed door, blocking the entrance to the room where Natasha was interrogating the one HYDRA agent they managed to catch alive.

Loki shook his head. His head hurt and the tightness in his chest wouldn’t diminish. Nothing of that showed in the grin he gave Clint. “I’m not talking about killing him. I just want to talk.” He smiled. “Then, if he doesn't want to cooperate, I will kill him. I’ll be back in an hour.”

Loki turned around and Clint muttered under his breath. “We don't owe you shit. Since when is he the one giving orders? Again, I mean. Should just wrap him up in duct tape and throw him in a hole.”

 

Back in the solitude of their room, Loki was struggling for control. He sat down on the bed, too tense to sleep despite his exhaustion. The feeling of guilt and failure wouldn’t leave him. Nothing he did had brought them closer to finding Tony and nothing could soothe his lingering desperation, the dark sadness that tried to grab him and pull him under. It was agonizing and every hour that passed without progress made it harder and more debilitating to gather the strength to keep on going instead of just giving in to it. He shook his head in a silent answer to himself. He had to find Tony and he would be alive. He just had to because he couldn’t imagine what he would if not. Loki steadied himself, taking a deep breath. He wouldn’t surrender now.

There was a loud knock at the door and he flinched just to get angry about it. When he tore open the door it was Bruce with a plate of sandwiches. “Eat. Doctor’s order.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I insist. It serves no purpose to starve yourself. So eat.”

Loki took the plate grudgingly. Just to drop it a moment later when they heard Natasha’s calm voice: “We have something. We’ll leave in 30 minutes. Come to the Quintjet.”

Banner sighed. “Alright, dinner is postponed until further notice.”

 

Tony wasn't sure how much time has passed when they pushed him through the door of his cell again. Groaning he just stayed on the ground where he fell down. Huddled and in pain. He wasn’t sure if he fell asleep or just passed out but when he woke up he was shivering from the cold. _This fucking sucks._

 

Steve studied the satellite picture Natasha gave him before the Quintjet’s take-off. “Calypso. Never heard of that Hydra base.”

“We neither.” The woman in the pilot seat answered. “So we have no information about it. You should be ready for a fight.”

 

The dense woods that surrounded the alleged facility forced them to land the Quintjet far away and walk. They marched in some distance to the road that seemed to lead to the HYDRA base. That way they could keep their direction but they shouldn’t be seen by anybody that might use that way. The building was not much more than a big concrete block. It looked a lot like an oversized bunker, sitting low in the hills. They could just guess, that the biggest part of it was underground. Otherwise, the HYDRA guy would have lied and their only trace to Tony Stark would be nothing more than a big waste of time. None of them wanted to think about that. As they sneaked nearer through the dark woods they could see floodlights and armed guards behind an electrified fence topped with barbwire.

"We have to deactivate the fence first. Then take out the guards before they can alert someone inside." Natasha proposed.

Loki made a disapproving noise. “This is not a S.H.I.E.L.D base, so I don’t see why we should be as careful as with the Lighthouse. You shouldn’t have friends in there. In the event of  you having any.”  
“You're not the highlight of my day.” She pointed at the building in the distance. “You can storm in there and get yourself killed for all I care. But they might as well kill their prisoners when attacked. So if you want Stark back alive you might reconsider your course of action.”  
“A distraction would be good,” Hawkeye added.

Chance came to their aid while they were still discussing. They heard the distinct noise of a car, driving in their direction. Steve sprinted to the street and saw a HYDRA agent that drove through the woods in direction of the facility. It was an old open Jeep and Steve stopped him dead in his tracks with his shield while the others followed the Captain to the road.

Standing next to the car Loki’s body and clothing turned into the unconscious HYDRA agent that lay on the ground. He now looked exactly like him. “A distraction.”

Steve shook his head. He wasn’t sure if he would ever get used to that trick.

Black Widow coughed slightly. “Can you even drive a car?”

“Yes.” The annoyance in the stranger’s face looked unmistakable like Loki.

“Sure you can,” Hawkeye muttered. “On the loading area.”

 


End file.
